Crypto Liquidations Exceed $676 Million Amid Bitcoin’s Surge Past $100K
Bitcoin's #BTC surge past $100,000 has led to significant market liquidations. On December 4, over $676 million in perpetual futures contracts were liquidated on centralized exchanges, impacting 209,359 traders. Long positions faced the majority of losses, totaling $373 million, while short positions accounted for $305 million.
Bitcoin's Historic Rally and Market Impact
The rally commenced in November, driven by optimism following Donald Trump's re-election as US president, propelling BTC to an all-time high of $103,361. Many derivatives traders were caught off guard by this rapid increase. According to CoinGlass, Bitcoin contributed $182.5 million to total liquidations, with Ethereum #ETH at $91.6 million. Ripple's XRP and Solana #SOL saw liquidations of $56 million and $21 million, respectively.
Other cryptocurrencies like Cardano #ADA and Binance Coin #BNB experienced combined liquidations exceeding $112 million. The largest single liquidation occurred on Bybit, where a trader lost $8.91 million in Bitcoin positions.
Binance led exchange liquidations, eliminating over $260 million in leveraged positions, followed by OKX at $163 million and Bybit at $161 million.
XRP Overthrows USDT to Reclaim Its Place
The liquidation wave heightened volatility among derivatives traders. A day prior, $588 million in futures contracts were liquidated, bringing the two-day total to over $1.26 billion.
XRP #XRP briefly regained its position as the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, surpassing Tether #USDT for the first time in years. The digital asset surged 415%, reaching $2.5 following its legal battle with the SEC in 2020, but later declined, resulting in $69 million in liquidations—$36 million in longs and $33 million in shorts.
Dogecoin, typically more stable than other cryptocurrencies, faced approximately $22.5 million in liquidations. The market downturn was exacerbated by reports of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol imposing martial law amid political unrest, significantly influencing crypto prices, particularly on South Korean exchanges like Upbit.